Eastwood’s new film, “American Sniper,” which recently hit French cinemas, should do well to reassure fans of this Sergio Leone-obsessed actor. The film was an incredible success in the U.S., where it grossed $105 million on its first weekend of wide release. This just goes to show that, even at 85, and with almost as many films under his belt, Eastwood remains a profitable director. His new film, however, is a rather personal creation that delves deeply into the mind of the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history, Chris Kyle. Kyle shot and killed over 150 enemies in cold blood, before being murdered in front of his own home. So, the former hero of “Dirty Harry” is once again accused of having produced a reactionary and militaristic film. [It is] proof that years may pass, but nothing really changes as far as Eastwood is concerned — including, for that matter, his taste in women, who continue to fall helplessly in love with his eyes that are as blue as Californian skies. His last conquest, at 42, was less than half his own age!

It seems, then, that this self-taught man has discovered Hollywood’s great and long-lost secret, producing films adored by both hardcore movie fans and sentimental fools. A skilled golfer and owner of a very exclusive golfing club in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Californian city home to many multimillionaires where he was once mayor, this relentless defender of the right to bear arms seems able to pull off just about anything, except politics. His memorable 2012 speech at the Republican National Convention during which he addressed an empty chair intended to represent President Obama serves to remind us, and future generations, that the most terrible off all American “snipers” remains ridicule and mockery.